Into the Nothing
by SarahisToin
Summary: After Anders kills a group of fellow Wardens and flees the country, his Commander and friend Naria Tabris is instructed by the First Warden himself to bring the mage back to Ferelden- whatever the cost. Eventual F!Tabris/Nathaniel.
1. Prologue

_9:37 Dragon_

_Location: ?_

As I lay in the ruins of devastation, the ruins of my life, a thought came to me. How had I ended up here? Was it fate? Had I always been destined to kill the Archdemon and become enthralled in events that would ruin my life and the lives of countless others?

I realised it was silent now. The screams had stopped and no children were crying. I couldn't hear anything in fact. I attempted to move my arm and felt a sharp pain course through it, making me cringe. I abandoned that idea and opened my eyes instead.

It was pitch black and I became aware of the fact that I was surrounded by rock. In my mouth I could taste blood and ash. I parted my lips to draw in air, but I only succeeded in drawing in dust. It caught in my throat and my body shook with a racking cough. Blood was trickling down my face from my forehead and it was making me dizzy and tired.

I closed my eyes again and let out a small sigh. Perhaps I should just give up. It was likely that no one would find me here and I could just slip away. I wouldn't have to face the consequences of my actions. I wouldn't have to face HIM. Oh my love...I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You never wanted this for us. An image of his devastated face came to the front of mind and, in that moment, the pain in my heart superseded anything else. I gripped the hilt of the dagger he has given me and oppressed a sob.

Perhaps it wasn't fate that had brought me here. Perhaps it was the Maker who had led me to this point? He must surely despise me now for I had surely broken almost every commandment that had ever been spouted by his prophet Andraste.

How did they go? Something along the lines of not stealing...I had done that. Many times.

Those who bring harm without provocation to the least of His Children are hated and accursed by the Maker...had I had provocation enough every time I had killed?

Magic exists to serve man and never to rule over him. I was no mage, but others had used their magic to serve me.

I smiled a little at the realisation that I seemed to be constantly sinning. And the fact that I always found some way of justifying myself when I murdered or conspired with blood mages. The only thing was, I couldn't find a way to justify myself this time. I had failed the Grey Wardens, I had failed my love, and I had failed myself. It was time to give up and just sleep. I would be with my mother again...and Alistair.

I let out another small sigh and relaxed as best as I could, waiting for the air in this small space to run out.

Minutes passed silently... I wasn't sure how long I had been down here, it could have been minutes or it could have been hours. I tried to stop the images of my friends, old and new, coming to the front of my mind but they seemed determined to plague me with guilt.

Oghren, Sigrun, Zevran, ...what would they think of me? And even my newest friend Hawke, one of the most important people in Kirkwall, where was she now? Was she caught up in this mess too?

And Anders. At the thought of the mage's name a searing heat of anger shot through my body and I opened my eyes with a start.

This was not my fault. This was HIS! He was the reason I was here and the reason why I was in this blighted country. I gritted my teeth in fury and released my grip on my dagger, moving my hand instead to try and push through the rubble just above my head.

How could I have forgotten what he had said to me just a few hours before? How he had shamed the Wardens?

I was not giving up without making him face the consequences of his actions. I was getting out of here. And Anders was going to pay.


	2. Duties of a Warden Commander

_9:31 Dragon_

_Location: Amaranthine_

"What are you trying to say Shem? That I'm not good enough to wear it because I'm an elf?" My cousin Shianni yelled, her face almost as red as her hair.

"Well I er... that is I mean..." The traumatised merchant stuttered, fumbling with the necklace he has been showing to Shianni just moments before.

I cringed and stepped forward,

"Come on Shianni" I whispered, taking her arm, "There are lots of stalls to shop at"

"He just said the necklace wouldn't look right on me!" Shianni shrieked.

"Ooooo look! Kaleidoscopes!" I pretended to gasp, "I haven't seen those for sale in the market before!"

I dragged my reluctant cousin away from the jewellery stand and towards a new stall filled with Kaleidoscopes and trinkets from Par Vollen.

"Grrrrr...let me at him Naria! I'll kick his sorry hide all the way back to Denerim!" Shianni was still yelling and dragging her feet as I pulled her away.

I quickly grabbed a Kaleidoscope off the stand and shoved it into her hands. It had the desired effect and she was distracted by its shiny exterior. I allowed her to look into it for a few moments before sighing,

"Shianni. You can't go around yelling at every human we talk to!"

"Why not? They yell at me" Shianni replied, still looking into the device.

I was tempted to say that she shouldn't yell because I was the Warden Commander and it looked bad on me, but I knew that wouldn't work with her. Also, I no longer shared her view on humans. Admittedly, yes, some were as bad as she thought and after what she had been through with one two years ago, I couldn't judge her views. A lot of humans treated their dogs with more respect then they did elves, but after my time as a Warden I had come to learn that they weren't all alike. And there was the er...small fact that I had been in love with a human. Not that I was thinking about him. Ever. Apart from now. I decided to say to her,

"You don't want to sink to their level do you?"

Shianni stopped looking into the kaleidoscope and instead peered at me with a questioning expression. She let out a small laugh and placed the device back on the stand.

"I guess not" She smiled widely at me, "You big shem lover!"

"Hey!" I cried, pushing her playfully. Shianni laughed again pushed me back, causing me to stumble into an old woman who was hobbling past us with a large basket on her arm.

"Oh! Sorry ser!" I giggled, stepping away from her. She gave me a filthy look from under bushy grey eyebrows, before hobbling off again and mumbling "blasted elves" under her breath.

Shianni let out a dramatic sigh and linked her arm into mine.

"Come on. We'd best get bet to the Crown and Lion!"

We began to walk through the busy market crowds and towards the local tavern. Although we were related, we looked nothing alike. She had bright red hair, cropped short and pale skin, while I had long blonde hair, tied back into a pony tail to keep it out of my face and dark blue eyes. My skin was tanned from constantly being outside fighting bandits and Darkspawn. I had also had my nose broken a few times in fights, so it was a much stranger shape then it had been once upon a time.

Shianni's eyes roamed over the dresses at a tailor's stall.

Bless her. I loved my cousin dearly and she had come all the way from Denerim to spend a month with me. Before the Blight she had been involved in the traumatising event that had caused me to join the Grey Wardens and, thankfully, she was now none the worse for wear for it. I remembered that after the Blight I had visited her and she had been bitter that she and the rest of my family were left to live in squalor in the Alienage while I enjoyed the "riches" of being a Hero of Ferelden. Well, she was bitter up until the point I had produced a large bag of gold.

"So who is the new Hahren in the Alienage?" I asked, "I still can't believe you refused the position!"

"Being a Hahren doesn't just mean organising parties and deciding who marries who" Shianni explained, "It also means keeping peace with the local guard"

"Oh yes, I forgot about that part" I grinned, "It definitely wasn't the right job for you then. There'd be a riot every week!"

Shianni let out a loud laugh at this,

"How well you know me cousin! Still..." She gave a small shrug, "I think Terador will do a good enough job"

"Terador?" I exclaimed incredulously.

"I know! No one thought he'd ever be interested in being Hahren, but when the nominations came he stood out from the crowd" Shianni looked at me and winked, "Besides, he's easy on the eye!"

"Shianni" I tutted, before smiling at her.

We continued to walk towards the tavern. Amaranthine was surrounded by large stone walls and the guards posted to stand around them bowed to me respectfully as I walked by.

"How do you get the Shemlen to obey your orders?" Shianni asked in wonder.

"Well, I'm their Commander. Why wouldn't they obey me?"

"Well, most humans don't like taking orders from elves"

"They don't see me as an elf. They see me as the Hero of Ferelden" I shrugged, "Besides, you haven't seen me in action. I can be scary"

Shianni laughed loudly at this.

To be fair to her though, I did find it terribly ironic that just two years ago I had been just another alienage elf, abused by humans who viewed elves as second class citizens and now I was a Warden Commander and the Hero of Ferelden, thus I was well known in the city and the rest of Ferelden by a lot of people Yes, a lot of sacrifices had been made and I had suffered pain and loss the way, but I was in a much better position than most of my kinsman. I had been saved from the noose by Duncan (the old commander of the Wardens) and whisked away from my family to become a Grey Warden recruit. I had survived the joining and dragged into the battle against the spawn at Ostagar. King Cailan had been betrayed by his (now dead) general Loghain and every Warden had been slaughtered in the battle except for me and the other Warden that had survived (not that I was thinking about the other Warden, except for now and just a few minutes ago... okay from now on he was now going to be called HIM) and it had been up to us to unite the people of Ferelden and kill the Darkspawn leader, the great Archdemon. I had the er..."honour" of killing the dragon, there fore I became the Hero of Ferelden. I was now revered all over the country by humans, elves and dwarves (Although not so much by the dwarves, they're a very self centred race). Then The Mother and The Architect had raised their (very ugly, extremely disturbing) heads and I had been volunteered to become the Warden Commander and the one to get rid of them.

Well, all of that was sorted now and life was good. As good as it could be. Thanks to me and my recruits efforts to save Amaranthine the Grey Wardens were once again popular throughout the country and everyone wanted to be a Warden. They all wanted to wear fancy armour and walk around the streets getting free bread and free entry into the brothels...ew. Looking at some of the recruits I didn't envy the whores! Especially the one that joined the other week with the half a moustache. Either he had had a shaving accident or he actually thought it looked good. Maybe he had strange facial hair and could only manage half a 'tache anyway? Dear Maker, stop thinking about that.

So there were perks to being a Warden now we were respected again. Although the 30 year lifespan thing was NOT an envious point of being a Warden ...but I wasn't going to think about that. Father always said I had a way of not worrying about something unless it was right around the corner and this was still the case. He also said my sarcasm would get me in to trouble one day but, the way I saw it, I was always in some sort of trouble anyway.

Speaking of my father... I spotted him stood outside of the Crown and Lion. He had my Mabari war hound Toro by the collar and he was having a terrible time trying to keep the huge dog from charging off. My Father's struggle was made momentarily worse by the fact that Toro had spotted me and he began to run towards me excitedly.

"Toro! Toro stop! Torooooooo!" My father yelled as my dog dragged him towards me and Shianni. Toro let out a loud bark and bounded towards me, causing my father to trip over and land face first onto the path!

"Hello boy!" I cooed as Toro reached me. I rubbed his head and ears affectionately, "Did you miss me? I bet you wanted to come shopping with me and Shianni didn't you? Yes you did!"

"That's alright my dear, I'll just lay on the floor while you say hello to the dog!"I heard my Father chuckle from the floor.

"Sorry Father!" I exclaimed with a laugh. I pushed Toro out of the way(he turned his attentions to an unfortunate Shianni) and helped Father to his feet. Father brushed himself down and then lifted his head to look at me,

"Now, my dear, did you have a nice time shopping? Next time I am coming along, instead of volunteering to babysit the dog!"

"Yes we did" I answered, taking his arm and steering him towards the entrance of the tavern, "Shianni nearly caused another civil war in the market, but apart from that we had a wonderful time!"

"Shianni" Father sighed.

"What?" Shianni exclaimed, feigning innocence, "I was stopped by the great Hero of Ferelden before any harm was done!"

"The Hero of Ferelden" Father grinned at me, "You know it still makes me so proud every time I hear someone say those three words"

"Father..." I began, grimacing slightly. We had entered the tavern and were making our way towards one of the tables so we could have a drink. It was a fairly large tavern, decorated in dark colours and filled with humans and elves sat at round tables, all chatting loudly. It smelled strongly of ale.

My Father stopped walking and took me by the shoulders.

"I mean it. You represent the best of us. Your Mother would have been so proud"

"I know Father" I placed one of my hands over his, "Or she'd say, sharpen your blade! You couldn't cut bread with that!"

"True!" My Father burst out laughing.

"Hey! Who let that mangy mongrel in here?" One of the humans at the bar yelled. He was sporting a dirty waistcoat and a terribly unflattering beard. Toro flattened his ears and growled at him.

"The Hero of Ferelden's dog can go where he likes!" The bar tender told him.

"Oh? The Hero of Ferelden?" The man looked astounded and I saw his eyes glance at the expensive leathers I wore and the two daggers on my back, "I'm sorry Ser! He's not mangy at all! He is in fact...very handsome!"

I sneered slightly at him and turned back to face my father.

"I never thought I'd live to see the day" Father whispered, "A human apologising to an elf"

The four of us went to sit at a table near the bar. I pulled a chair out for my father and he sat down, groaning slightly as he did so. Toro laid himself down under the table and rested his head on his paws.

"Father, your knees are getting worse. I've told you and Shianni to come and live with me at the Keep"

"You know me my girl, I'm a creature of habit" Father's face relaxed as the pressure from his knees was lifted, "I've always lived in the alienage and I always will"

"It just doesn't seem right, me living in the Keep while the two of you still share that poky little house in the Alienage. These visits are nice but I think you should move here permanently" I frowned. I was very protective of those I loved and it was a downfall that I didn't like to admit to. Wardens weren't supposed to harbour feelings like that in case it got in the way of our duties. But I wasn't an object. I was going to love my family whether the Order liked it or not.

"You wouldn't feel comfortable living among that many humans would you Uncle?" Shianni asked him. Father shook his head,

"I wouldn't. Still...let's talk about something more cheery! I know you no longer travel with your companions from the Blight Naria, but you've hardly mentioned your new ones in your letters. What are they like?"

"Well" I began, taking my daggers off my back and placing them on the table, "I have a lot of recruits but I always take a certain group with me on my important expeditions. There is...Oghren of course"

"Wait, he was one of your companions in the Blight wasn't he?" Shianni said questioningly.

"Yes, he decided he wanted to be a Warden" I shrugged, "He smells but he's a good fighter. Then there's Sigrun, Anders, Justice and Nathaniel. I also knew Velanna but...she disappeared during the assault on Vigil's Keep. I haven't seen her since" I narrowed my eyes and stared at the table. Velanna had never been on good terms with me as she was a Dalish elf and therefore carried the attitude of "I'm better than you and stuck up my own backside".

"Well... speaking of the Keep" Shianni began, "I wanted to ask you something, Cousin. Something important"

Father cleared his throat loudly,

"What are the two of you having to drink? I think I might try the mead myself, I haven't had that one yet!"

"What is it Shianni?" I asked her, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes definitely the mead. I tried the Ale but it just isn't the same as the one at home!" Father interrupted.

"I want to-" Shianni began.

"Have you heard from Soris recently Naria? Everyone at the Alienage was so angry at him for running off to Highever with his human lover, I don't think he dares visit!"

"Want to what?" I persisted, ignoring Father.

"I haven't had a letter from him in months. He thinks I am angry at him for not taking an elven wife-"

"I want to be a Warden!" Shianni exclaimed loudly. Father let out a sigh. I flinched.

I stared at my red haired, pale skinned cousin incredulously. I felt the brief heat of anger burn in my chest.

"No" I said plainly.

"No?" Shianni scowled, "That's your answer? Just like that?"

"Oh Maker" Father murmured, knowing an argument was brewing, "Uh...waitress!"

"You know I am a sufficient archer and I have been practising!" Shianni insisted. She leaned forward and clasped her hands together, "Cousin, being a Grey Warden is one of the highest privileges someone of our kind can hope for! You know that! I don't want to be washer woman my entire life! I want to help Ferelden by killing as many Darkspawn as I can!"

"No!" I repeated, "No way!"

"Why not?"

"Girls please, don't argue!" Father frowned.

"Being a Grey Warden is dangerous! I don't want you involved in it" I snapped.

"I know it's dangerous, but I'm more then capable! Naria, let me help"

"Don't you think I have enough to worry about without you joining the Wardens? How do you think I would feel if you were killed?"

Was I being selfish? Perhaps. But I didn't want Shianni in the Wardens. I would never forgive myself if she died.

"Then give me a trail run! A month, fighting by your side!"

I let out a small sigh and sat back against my chair.

"You can't have a "trail run" in the Wardens. There is a..." I hesitated, aware of how much I was permitted to say, "Initiation ritual. Once you become a Warden there is no turning back"

Shianni leaned closer to me, widening her brown eyes in earnest,

"Then let me join. If anything happens to me, I am sure that neither your Father or Soris will blame YOU"

I stared at her and continued to scowl. I couldn't tell her that she may not even live past the joining ritual. If I let her join the Wardens I would be constantly checking on her to make sure she was alright! Plus, she didn't like humans. Hmmmmm, I could get her with that one.

"There are lots and lots of human Grey Wardens. You'd have to work with them all day, every day"

Father was still gesturing desperately for the waitress to come over to try and distract us with drink.

"I could do that" Shianni answered, undeterred, "If I become a Grey Warden it means I would be equal in rank to them. If they said anything bad, I could say it right back and not get in trouble for it!"

"Ugh, Shianni no!" I growled. I looked at my Father for help.

"Don't look at me, I've been telling her not to ask you since we left Denerim!"

"Denerim? This is why you didn't want to be Hahren!" I suddenly realised, turning back to face Shianni.

"Yes" Shianni nodded, "I really want to be a Warden. I want to do my part for the country and to prove to Shemlen that elves aren't worthless. PLEASE Cousin. I've been practising my archery for months!"

Oh Shianni. Why were you doing this to me? I was having a nice day up until this point. I rested my hands on the table and let out another sigh. I could continue to deny her wishes. It would be better for me AND for her. If she died in the joining it would be such a waste of her life and the pain of her death would wound both me and Father. But then...she would always be unhappy and pondering the unanswerable question of "what if?". So...What to do? What to do?

Father reached out and put his hands over mine.

"This is your decision my dear"

I looked into his grey eyes for a while. There was sadness in their depths and I didn't know why. I could feel Shianni's gaze on me. I turned back to her and said quietly,

"Alright. Come to the Keep this Friday and show me your skill with the bow. If I believe you to be efficient, then I will allow you to undertake the joining"

"Really?" Shianni's eyes widened in delight, "That's wonderful! Thank you so, so much Naria! I won''t let you down I promise!"

I grunted at her and looked up at the waitress who had finally come to our table. Right, now that was over with...I would worry about it on Friday.

xxxx

Three hours later and I was back at the Keep. It had been four months since The Mother has been defeated and the repair of Vigil's Keep was under way.

Two of the walls that had been besieged by the Darkspawn were already finished and they were made out of the finest granite the area could provide.

I ran my hand over the stone and felt a sense of satisfaction. Things seemed to be going well. Repairs were under way, The Mother was dead, Amaranthine loved me and new recruits for the Wardens were pouring into the Keep everyday.

Ever since I had saved the city of Amaranthine from the Darkspawn the nobles had been indebted to me and they were constantly offering their gold to help Vigil's keep rebuild. Albeit, some of them (such as Bann Esmeralle...before I had assassinated her) seemed to offer their services very reluctantly. They didn't have a choice in the matter though. The Wardens owned the Arling of Amaranthine now and being the leader of the Wardens, it technically made me the Arlessa. I was equal to them in rank and some of them hated it.

I felt a wet tongue on my arm, followed by a large helping of slobber. I looked at my faithful Mabari Hound and grinned. He barked loudly and wagged his stump of a tail. If he could talk, he would probably have said "Stop looking at that wall! It's dinner time!"

I turned away from the wall and carried on my way to the hall. My hound followed suite, ensuring he kept to my side at all times. He had been like my personal bodyguard ever since I had found him at Ostagar two years ago and he was certainly better company than most of the people in the Keep!

Anyway, I had a joining to attend to and I wasn't looking forward to it. Still, it had to be done. I was the Warden Commander of Ferelden and it was my duty to expand the ranks. Even if it was depressing... make that very depressing!

It was a beautiful sunny day and the Keep was very busy. It didn't just house Grey Wardens after all, it was also filled with builders, merchants and soldiers. They were all bustling about, performing their various duties and chatting loudly to each other. The air smelled strongly of freshly baked bread...or was it pie? Either way it smelled delicious.

"Commander" A new recruit bowed to me as I walked by.

I nodded at him and smiled but didn't stop to talk because I couldn't remember his name!

"Hey Commander! Commander!" I heard from somewhere behind me.

I smiled to myself. Now there was a voice I (and probably everyone else in the Keep) recognised.

"Oghren!" I grinned, turning to face him.

The dwarf was dressed head to foot in full, shiny bronze armour and he was running as fast as his little legs would carry him. He finally caught up to me and he bent over wheezing and trying to catch his breath. A strong smell was ale was omitting from him (Unsurprisingly. Oghren's favourite thing in the whole wide world, apart from dwarven women, was alcohol. Ale, mead, whisky, even "that woman's drink" also known as wine would do. If it made him drunk he didn't mind!)

"By the tits of my ancestors!" He wheezed, "Where have you been? I've been looking for you all afternoon!" He caught sight of my dog and his eyes widened, "Oh sod!"

Toro let out a huge BARK and threw himself onto the dwarf, almost knocking him onto the ground.

"Get off me you great sodding horse! What do I look like? Your personal humping post?" He attempted to push Toro off him but the hound was almost as tall as him and certainly weighed as much!

"He loves you Oghren! He's giving you kisses!" I teased as Toro licked Oghren's cheeks and beard.

"Well I know where that tongue has been and I don't want it on my face!"

I shook my head and let out a laugh. I then decided to refer back to his original question:

"I've been in the city" I pulled Toro back towards me by his collar "I met my family for a drink and one of the smiths had made me a new pair of daggers so I went to collect them" I gestured to the sheathed daggers hanging on my back with my free hand. The smith I was talking about was quite strange and was always speaking to himself whenever I was in the shop, but he made good daggers!

"Oh" Oghren answered, though he didn't seem particularly interested as he was still having some sort of mini heart attack and trying to wipe drool off his face.

I folded my arms and waited for him to finish before asking,

"So why have you been looking for me?"

"Seneschal Varel has been browning his trousers all morning since I said I couldn't find you. Don't know why he didn't send a servant myself, he knows I'm not exactly good at remembering messages!"

I smiled at my old friend fondly. He had been with me and HIM on our voyage to defeat the Archdemon and had been with us when I killed the Archdemon. He was supposed to start a new life with his wife Felsi and their daughter, but he had instead decided to become a Warden like me.

"So, do you remember the message?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Well...come on Naria. It was about five hours ago...five hours and three bottles ago" He grinned at me.

I rolled my eyes jokily and carried on walking towards the hall, gesturing for him to follow me. Toro ran ahead of us so he could mark his scent on one of the walls.

"Do you remember anything he said? Or were you still thinking about Sigrun in the bath?"

"Heh heh heh. I had forgotten about that. Thanks for reminding me Commander" Oghren wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and I laughed loudly.

"Poor Sigrun. She can't even get a bath in peace"

"Hey! I didn't do it on purpose! I thought it was the men's bathing room!" Oghren protested, half heartedly.

"Of course!" I cried, not believing him in the slightest.

"Ha! She jumped into that water faster than a casteless on a scabby nug!" Oghren cackled.

"Don't let Sigrun hear you say that about the casteless, she'll threaten to cut your balls off again"

We walked past the large statue of Andraste, which was stationed just outside of the doors that led into the inside area of the Keep. I ensured that the statue was lovingly cared for and thankfully it had survived the Darkspawn attack.

"Commander" The two soldiers guarding the entrance into the Keep both bowed at me and then went to open the doors.

It was a grand old building the Keep. It had originally been built by the Avvar barbarians hundreds and hundreds of years ago but had obviously been expanded on by then. The high stone walls were covered with ivy and the insignia of the Grey Wardens was hung over the entrance, resting just above the huge oak doors. The golden griffins on the banner were an imposing sight indeed.

"I have a joining to attend to" I told Oghren, "I am sure that Varel's message can wait until after that. I will find him later"

"Well...I'm pretty sure it was important" The red headed dwarf mumbled, "But, hey! New recruits! Any girls that look like they might need a bit of the Oghren experience?"

"Oghren!"

"What?

Inside the Keep, Oghren and I went our separate ways. He went to the barracks to change and I made my way to the main hall. Usually Varel would hold a joining but I had decided that I should try and attend as many as possible. It made the recruits respect me more and it never hurt to have as many people behind me as possible.

The joining chalice and mixture would already be on the table in the main hall and I just needed to go through the ritual with the recruits and wait with them until it was completed.

I entered the corridor that led to the main hall. The attack by the Darkspawn had left it in ruins, including the inside. I had instructed Seneschal Varel that it needed to be redecorated and every trace of the spawn scrubbed away. After all, what were recruits going to think if they came in and saw Darkspawn guts all over the place or, Maker forbid, ripped wallpaper?

As I made my way down the corridor, I saw Nathaniel and Anders stood together and they seemed to be exchanging angry words. Toro's ears pricked up at the sight of them.

"No Anders! If you have such a concern, why don't you look for him yourself?"

"How would I know where he's slinked off too? Mages aren't psychic you know! Although, come to think of it, it would be useful if we were!"

"Ugh, just leave me be" Nathaniel groaned impatiently, attempting to push past the mage.

"What's wrong Anders?" I asked, approaching the two of them.

Nathaniel turned around at the sound of my voice and he bowed his head respectfully. Nathaniel used to be a noble, his father was in fact the Arl of Amaranthine until he had sided with the treacherous Loghain. I had been the one to slide a dagger into his father's ribs and, although Nathaniel had long since accepted that his father was a traitor and had had to be killed, it seemed that he could not let go of the fact that I had killed his parent and, once upon a time, idol. I assumed it was the reason why, although he was respectful towards me and always followed any of my issued orders, that he kept himself distant from me. Vigil's keep had been Nathaniel's childhood home and he had been caught breaking in. He initially told me he wanted to assassinate me for killing his father but, when it had come down to it, he just wanted to collect his family's things. I remember being so impressed that it took about four wardens to capture him I had had him recruited. Varel had not been happy but I did not care. I also remembered when I had found Nathaniel's Grandfather's bow in the basement of the Keep and offered it to him without a second thought. It was one of the few times I had ever gotten a smile out of him. It was a shame really, as Anders, Sigrun, Justice and Oghren were my friends first and recruits second, whereas it was always business with Nathaniel and I had know him just as long as the others.

"Oh the usual end of the world stuff! Anders replied, "I lost my earring and Ser Pounce-a-lot decided to have a crap in my bed!"

Now, while I might be good at sarcastic comments that only I find mildly amusing in my head, I'm actually terribly slow at making witty remarks. That and I wasn't very good at getting jokes. I couldn't think of anything to say to Anders' answer, so I simply said:

"Really? What a terrible life you lead Anders!"

"That's not what he was talking about" Nathaniel interrupted impatiently, "Justice seems to have gone missing. He hasn't been seen at the Keep since yesterday"

Toro was attempting to bury his head into Anders' robes, probably looking for all traces of Anders' cat.

I narrowed my eyes at Nathaniel's comment,

"What do you mean, _gone missing? _He isn't exactly a hard person to miss"

"Yes, which is why Anders is concerned" Nathaniel answered.

"Well, _concerned _is a bit of a strong word" Anders stated, pushing Toro's huge head away from him.

"He may have gone to see Aura in Amaranthine" I shrugged, "He does that sometimes" I was with Nathaniel on this one, I didn't see why Anders was so interested in Justice's whereabouts. He was a fade spirit trapped in a dead man's body, he didn't look or act like the rest of us.

"Yes, so if you really want to find him Anders, start by looking in the city" Nathaniel said, turning away from the mage, "Well, I have duties to attend to. Commander" Nathaniel bowed his head in my direction and I inclined mine back politely. He left then, silently making his way down the corridor.

"I don't think he likes being in my presence" I sighed, "Even after all this time"

"He just likes to go off and brood sometimes Commander, it's not your fault" Anders said reassuringly, "Andraste's pants! Your dog is obsessed with my crotch!"

I let out a loud laugh,

"He likes crotches!"

Toro, satisfied that he had left enough slobber and scent all over Ander's robes, stepped back and looked up at the mage, wagging his tail.

"Right. Ew" Anders wiped his robes and ended up with slobber all over his fingers. He flicked his hand and the drool flew at the wall. He turned back to face me, and there was a worried look in his golden brown eyes, something I wasn't used to seeing from him.

"What is the matter really? Come on Anders, you can trust me" I stepped closer and looked up at him.

I remember when I had first conscripted him from the Templars. He had not been keen on joining the Wardens, he just wanted to live free out of the Circle of Magi with no commitments to anyone but himself. Now his attitude had changed and he was one of my most faithful and trusted recruits. Not to mention that I found him rather attractive, as far as humans go. He had long dark blonde hair pulled back into a pony tail and a light layer of stubble on his cheeks. He was only the second human I had ever thought about in THAT way. Most of them (like the moustache man I was thinking about earlier) were downright ugly. And rude.

It seemed the feeling was mutual between me and Anders. At least, that was the impression I got. I wasn't very good at that sort of thing either. Slitting the throats of Darkspawn? Oh yes! Flirting? Oh no. Not that Grey Wardens were supposed to fraternise. However, I wasn't about to impose that rule when most of the order in Ferelden knew me and HIM had once been lovers. As long as the couples didn't decide to go off and elope with each other I didn't see a problem with some of them getting together.

I wouldn't ever take the first move with Anders though, I was far too shy. I must admit that I was slightly disappointed that he hadn't ever done anything beyond telling me I was "rather lovely".

Anders smiled cheekily at me and brought his clean hand up to brush away something on my head.

"You had a leaf in your hair" He explained.

"Oh!" I blushed bright red and ran a hand through the golden strands, awkwardly clearing my throat at the same time. The blush ran from my cheeks down to the ends of my long, pointed ears. There was a moment of silence after that, broken only when Anders said:

"I know I can trust you Commander, but you're a busy lady. I don't want you distracted"

My first thought was "You already distract me", but thankfully I didn't say it out loud, settling instead for:

"I know you and Justice have become a lot closer lately. I've seen the two of you in the hall and in the barracks. Has he said something that's concerned you?"

"There's that word again" He said with a smile, "Justice was angry at me the other day because he thinks I don't take the plight of other mages seriously enough. I thought maybe that's why he's gone missing"

"The plight of other mages?"

To my surprise, Anders frowned at this and replied sharply,

"Yes. _Our plight_. You wouldn't understand because you are not a mage. You weren't taken away from your parents when you were a child because you possess magical talents and then locked up in a tower so the rest of the world can be kept _safe _from you. You don't have Templars constantly dogging your footsteps!"

I raised my eyebrows at him in shock. Usually Anders had a very care-free attitude, which I admired greatly.

He saw my expression and let out a small sigh,

"I'm sorry Commander. I just get so angry when I think about how mages are treated. I have told Justice this and he thinks I should start some sort of revolution to free them all! Sounds too bloody difficult to me"

I tried to think of something to say to placate him but nothing came to mind. I looked at him and there was something odd about his expression, as well as an insincere look in his eyes. It confused me but I didn't dwell on it. I had a joining to attend to.

"Anyway, I had better go" Anders murmured, " My patrol starts in an hour and I don't want to be late. The Darkspawn will miss me" He winked at me and then walked by, patting Toro on the head as went.

I waited until he was out of sight before looking down at my hound and saying,

"Well that was awkward"

Toro whined in agreement.

xxxx

I entered the main hall and spotted the three new recruits stood at the end of it with another Grey Warden known only as Maverlies. The young woman had started off as a solider, assigned to protect the Keep but she had become so impressed by the Grey Wardens she decided she would like to be one. Today she was going to be my witness at the joining in case anything went er...wrong.

The hall was empty except for the four of them, as was expected when a joining took place. I approached silently with Toro at my heel.

They were stood around the table that had the joining chalice placed on top of it. It had been placed just in front of the wooden throne of Amaranthine.

The hall was very large and very hard to heat, which was why there was a huge fire place built in to it to keep some measure of warmth in the room. It was also decorated with various items from Grey Warden's travels (mostly mine) such as a dragon egg on a golden stand in the corner, an inactive stone golem taken from a dwarven thaig and a huge dragon skull hanging from the ceiling. I wondered if it impressed the recruits at all.

"So, where are you from Ser Whitney?" I heard the tallest recruit ask the man stood next to him with dark curly hair and large brown eyes. Yardley was leaning against the throne casually, not seeming bothered at all by the approaching ritual.

"I was a templar" Ser Whitney replied boredly, "News reached the Circle of Magi that the Grey Wardens were recruiting and Knight Commander Greagoir thought that I would be suitable"

"I thought the Templars liked to keep their recruits though?" The other man frowned, "It takes years to learn the talents of a templar doesn't it? Why would he just let you go to the Wardens?"

"He had his reasons, alright?" Ser Whitney snapped, "I don't recall it being any of your business!"

"Touchy!" Maverlies sniggered.

"Well my name is Ser Yardley. I won a contest in the city, beating many others to win the prize of becoming a Warden" Ser Yardley puffed out his chest proudly, "The Wardens need someone like me, looking at the state of some of the recruits I have seen milling around"

"And what about you?" The nosy recruit rounded on the third, narrowing his eyes as he did so, "How did _you _end up here?"

The third recruit was a young elven girl with long dark hair and huge green eyes. She was tiny but was sporting two huge daggers that were hanging from her belt.

"My name is Marsaya. Me and my father were servants here when the old Arl ruled" She replied quietly, keeping her eyes on the floor, "He taught me to fight before he died and Ser Varel thought I had potential"

"Pftttt" Ser Yardley scoffed, " In my village humans do all the fighting. The only thing a knife ear is good at is _below_ the belt. If you know what I mean" He chuckled and nudged Ser Whitney with his elbow. The former Templar glowered at him.

I felt the searing heat of anger rush through me, causing my cheeks to redden as he laughed and the girl looked away in shame. In that moment she reminded me so much of myself two years ago that I had to act. Time to put on my Commander voice and teach him a thing or two about respect. I wasn't having anyone who treated elves like that under my command.

I unsheathed my dagger and threw it across the room. It spun through the air, glinting in the sunlight that streamed through the windows and landed right where I wanted it.

It struck the wood of the throne with a loud schuum! It missed his face by an inch.

"Agh!" Ser Yardley yelled in surprise. He jumped back and stared at the dagger with his mouth agape.

"Well it's _such_ a good job that we don't all come from your village isn't it Ser Yardley?" I cried, approaching them with a swagger in my step, "Then we would only have humans to defend us from the Darkspawn! The world would be over run with the creatures within a week!"

The three recruits and Maverlies turned around at the sound of my voice.

"Commander!" Maverlies and Marsaya immediately dropped to one knee. The other two gave them surprised looks before following suit.

"The Commander of the Grey Wardens is an elf?" Yardley whispered to Whitney.

"Everyone knows that you idiot!" Whitney shot back.

"You can stand" I said. I gestured for Toro to sit next to the joining table, which he did, before I went to collect my dagger. The four of them rose and stared at me, waiting for instructions.

I pulled it out of the wood and put it back in its sheath, before rounding on Ser Yardley.

"Two years ago I hated all humans and had no interest in stopping the Blight. Why should I care if the Darkspawn kill a few humans? As long as I and the rest of the elves in the Alienage are safe, what does it matter? It wasn't until I witnessed the horrors that the blight inflicted that I realised I was being a fool" I stepped closer to him, narrowing my blue eyes as far as they would go, " I was a fool and YOU are a fool. The Darkspawn do not discriminate between the races. They will kill you whether you are a human, elf, dwarf or even a Qunari. They DO NOT discriminate and, if you live to become a Warden, neither will you"

I gave him one last look of disgust before stepping back and smiling at the other three.

"Welcome to Vigil's Keep. I am the Commander of the Grey Wardens and the Hero of Ferelden. My real name, however, is Naria Tabris" I flicked my hair over my shoulder and put my hands on my hips, "Yes I am an elf, and so are some of the other recruits in the Keep. We also house thieves, casteless and blood mages. We are not judges. Anyone with the skill to fight the Darkspawn will be recruited"

"Blood mages?" Ser Whitney piped up.

"Yes" I answered, "We do sometimes resort to that, but only if we are desperate"

Ser Whitney did not look pleased with this but he kept silent.

"Now we must perform the ritual"

"Are we going to find out what this ritual actually is now?" Ser Yardley said loudly.

"Yes" I answered simply, "Now I have to tell you what being a Grey Warden really means"

Maverlies gave me a sad look. I hated this part but there was worse to come yet. What a jolly day I was having.

"The Darkspawn can sense each other by the taint that is inside each of them. We Grey Wardens take this taint into ourselves and, in doing so, we become more adept at fighting them and we can sense their presence whenever they are near by"

"Take the taint into ourselves? What do you mean?" Ser Whitney asked worriedly, " Isn't the taint poisonous?"

"Yes" I repeated. Ser Whitney and Ser Yardley looked at each other in disbelief while Marsaya just stared at me, her expression was unreadable.

"The joining will now be undertaken. Each of you will drink from the joining chalice, which contains Darkspawn blood...among other things. If you survive, you will become a full Grey Warden and can join our ranks immediately"

"So...this joining ritual can kill us?" Ser Whitney stammered.

"Like you said earlier, it is poisonous. Not everyone survives the joining" I answered, "It is one of the many sacrifices we have to make. We're not a happy bunch, I'm telling you" I turned to face Maverlies,

"Maverlies, if you would?"

Maverlies nodded and recited the words that were always said at joinings,

"Join us brother and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand vigilant. Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should we perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten. And that, one day, we shall join you"

I picked up the chalice. It was a huge silver goblet decorated with rubies. It was filled almost to the brim with blood and it stank.

I passed it to Ser Whitney. He looked at me with concern in his eyes. I nodded at him and he bravely began to drink.

Watching him reminded me painfully of my joining, where I had been the only one of three to survive. I prayed in my head to the Maker for him to be merciful, that all three of them would live. Well, maybe not Yardley.

Ser Whitney drank two big mouthfuls before passing the chalice back to me.

Nothing happened for a few moments and the former Templar looked at me in confusion. Then suddenly, he let out a loud cry and grabbed his head in pain. His pupils disappeared and his eyes went bright white. He made a gurgling sound, fell to the floor and was silent.

"Oh, dear Maker!" Marsaya cried frightfully, speaking up for the first time since I had approached. Maverlies dropped to her knees beside him and felt for a pulse on his neck.

"He is still alive Commander!" She announced. I smiled at her,

"That's good. He should wake in a few minutes" I turned to face Yardley and offered him the chalice. He took it from me, surprisingly gently and held it up to his lips.

"See you in a few minutes" He said cockily. He took two big gulps and passed the chalice back with a grin.

Again nothing happened. Then, out of nowhere, Yardley let out a huge shriek. His eyes turned bright white and he began to cough up the blood he had just drunk. His body shook and his skin turned deathly pale. He stumbled onto his knees clumsily and let out a gasp before falling face first onto the stone floor. He lay there, silent and unmoving. He was dead. Damn. Maybe I should have prayed for him after all?...oh well.

"Is...is he dead?" Marsaya piped up, her eyes wide with fear.

"He is" Maverlies replied, "He will be buried with the other Wardens"

"Oh...oh Maker. I'm so frightened" Marsaya gasped, looking at me with pleading eyes. I felt sorry for her, but there was nothing I could do. There was no turning back from this point. This was one of the reasons I didn't want Shianni to be a Warden. I would have to watch her undertake the ritual and what if she didn't survive? No. I couldn't think about that right now.

I passed Marsaya the chalice and she took it with shaking hands.

"I can do this" She whispered to herself. She tilted back her head and gulped down the mixture.

Well, thank the Maker that was over. Only Ser Yardley had died and that was no loss really, so all in all it was a successful joining.

Me and Toro made our way back to my room. I needed to change out of my leather cuirass and put on something more comfortable. Ooo, I could wear that new necklace that I bought when I was out with Sigrun the other day! Sigrun loved jewellery shopping. In fact, she liked anything shiny. She was like a magpie in a dwarf's body.

Speaking of Sigrun, here she was now. With Varel . Uh oh, I had forgotten about his "important message".

"There you are Naria!" Sigrun exclaimed, "Old and grumpy here has been hounding me for about an hour hoping I knew where you were!" I noticed she was sporting a glittering pair of clip on earrings in her ears. And they looked familiar!

"This isn't a laughing matter Sigrun" Seneschal Varel frowned, "Commander, I have urgent news"

"What is it?" I asked bewildered.

"The First Warden himself is making a visit to Vigil's Keep. He will be here within a week and will be staying for at least a month! Mistress Woolsey informed me last night!"

WHAT? I felt a sudden rush of butterflies to my stomach.

"The First Warden?" Sigrun frowned, "Isn't he that important guy from the Anderfels?"

"He is the head of all of the Grey Wardens in Thedas" Varel explained.

"Well that's just wonderful!" I cried, "No pressure Naria!"

"Hey, just whatever you do..."Sigrun patted my arm and looked up at me with a grin, "Don't let Oghren sit next to him at the dinner table!"

xxxx

_Two days later_

Another thing I was no good at? Stress. Flirting, witty remarks and stress were my down falls. You didn't have a time limit when you were on a battle field. You just killed as many Darkspawn (or whatever you were fighting) as you could until they were all dead. You didn't have to arrange nobles to arrive at the Keep at a precise time, you didn't have to decide whether the First Warden would prefer chicken or pork and you certainly didn't have to choose what colour the First Warden's room was to be decorated in!

"Why does he need it decorating?" I shouted at Mistress Woolsey, "It's fine!"

Me, Sigrun, Anders, Nathaniel, Justice, Toro and Oghren were about to go to out and deal with a nasty group of Darkspawn on the Merchant's path when Woolsey had accosted me and asked whether the First Warden should have blue drapes in his room or red.

"The First Warden is the most important person in our order Commander" Woolsey explained, though I could tell she was losing her patience with me, "He is coming all the way from Weisshaupt to visit the order in Ferelden. We must show him the utmost respect!"

"Well, I haven't even met him!" I protested, " You used to work for him! Surely you know what colour he would prefer?"

"You are the Commander, it is your decision!"

"Ugh!" I had little patience as it was, and today I had none left, "You'll be asking me whether or not he needs his backside wiping next!" I threw my arms in the air dramatically, before storming out of the gates.

"Well, baggy not doing that job!" Anders announced, "I have no desire to see the First Warden's arse!" He looked at Oghren slyly, "Why don't you do it Oghren? I bet your beard could get in all the nooks and crannies!"

"Anders, that is disgusting!" Nathaniel frowned, pulling a face at the mage.

"Why you nug humping, skirt wearing, cat piss smelling, beardless freak!" Oghren shouted.

"That was a long one" Anders said.

We all exited the Keep and began the long walk along the Merchant's path. We walked for an hour and I still couldn't sense the 'Spawn. I wondered if the stragglers spotted by the messenger had long since gone. I was leading the group as usual, with Toro by my side. Nathaniel, Sigrun and Oghren were stood just behind me, with Anders and Justice trailing slightly behind at the back.

We were surrounded by miles of golden fields, with wheat that grew taller than me and no company but the occasional scarecrow strategically placed every few miles. The path we were walking on was not a proper road either, it was more a muddy trail that ran through the fields. Today, thankfully, the mud had completely dried so I there wouldn't be any muddy boots needing washing when we got back to the Keep.

It was a scorching hot day and the leather armour I was wearing was causing me to sweat. The only part of me that wasn't armoured was my legs and the slight breeze that blew over them was a relief.

"Sodding sunshine" Oghren was groaning, "I'm sweating worse than the late Prince Bhelen's foot washer!"

"One of your princes had a personal foot washer?" Nathaniel asked in surprise.

"Oh yeah" Oghren shrugged, "He liked to be waited on that Bhelen" He was dressed from head to foot in a full set of silverite armour and was sweating twice as much as anyone else.

"Why would his foot washers sweat then? Surely it wasn't a difficult task?" Nathaniel raised an eyebrow.

"Ha! Nathaniel, you never met Prince Bhelen. If he got some bad news while the washers were cleaning his feet he'd kick them right in the face! He had a bad temper!"

"I think you need an foot washer Oghren" Nathaniel smiled, "YOUR feet smell worse than Toro after he's been rolling in a dead fox!"

I let out a loud laugh at this and Nathaniel looked at me in surprise. Our eyes met and I saw something in their depths that I couldn't quite place. I cleared my throat awkwardly and looked away.

"Justice, we can talk about this later!" Anders snapped. He and Justice were stood slightly away from the rest of us and they had been whispering to each other for at least the past five minutes now. Anders caught me looking at the two of them and he raised his eyebrows. He then said loudly,

"Did I just miss Nathaniel telling a joke? I can't believe it! I've been waiting to place this day on my calender!"

"Well...it was half a joke!" Sigrun sniggered.

"It was not" Nathaniel frowned, "I DO tell jokes"

"Yes, maybe once a year" Anders rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, Anders you are infuriating"

"I aim to please" Anders winked.

"Commander...may I have a word?" Justice called. I turned to face him and raised my eyebrows,

"Of course Justice" I answered, "What's the matter?"

Justice left Anders' side and joined me at the front of the group. Anders scowled at him as he left. I looked at Justice and waited for him to begin speaking.

The body that Justice inhabited had been that of a man called Kristoff who had been killed by a disciple of the Mother. Unfortunately, even though Justice was inhabiting him, Kristoff's body was still rotting away, which meant he wasn't a nice sight to come upon if you had just eaten your breakfast. The skin on his cheeks was peeling away and he had lost most of his teeth. No one knew how long the body was going to last, nor what would happen once all the flesh had disappeared. At that moments I imagined a skeleton following me around at the Keep with a little sword in its hand and I had to suppress a laugh.

"I have been thinking of my...mortality Commander. And my purpose"

"Oh?" I frowned. This sounded serious. Toro presented me with a large stick he had found in the field. I took it from him and threw it as far as I could. He bounded after it with a happy bark.

"I vowed to serve you so that Justice could be brought to the creatures that killed Kristoff" Justice said, "They are dead now and I find myself without a purpose"

"Killing Darkspawn is a purpose" I said.

"Yes, but I am a spirit of Justice. I exist to bring Justice to those who are oppressed"

"Well, the Darkspawn oppress people" I insisted. Justice let out a sigh and lifted his head so he could stare at the blue sky above us.

"It has come to my attention that there are a group of...people...who are in desperate need for Justice. I must help them"

"What people?" I frowned, "By killing Darkspawn you are helping people every day! If we weren't here to stop them they would overrun the towns and villages, killing anyone in their way!"

I didn't want to lose Justice. He was my friend and an excellent fighter. Who could these people be that he deemed helping them more important than serving the Grey Wardens? It was true though that, unlike the others, he was not a permanent member of the order and he had no real obligation to stay if he didn't wish to.

"Commander" Justice whispered, "I am grateful for everything you have done for me. You gave me purpose when I had none and you made me feel like your...friend"

"We are friends" I tutted, throwing Toro's stick again. At least once of us was having a good time!

"My leaving is definite but it should not be for a few months at least. I just thought I would forewarn you in case..."

"In case of what?"

"I STILL don't sense any Darkspawn" Anders said loudly, "Are you sure the messenger gave us the right route Commander?"

Justice let out another small sigh and stepped away from my side. It didn't look like he was going to answer my questions today.

"He said the Merchant's path" I called back to Anders, "We will keep walking for another hour. If we still can't sense the 'Spawn by that point then we will turn back"

"An hour?"Oghren puffed, "Can't you people invest in some horses or something? All this walking isn't good for my legs!"

"Perhaps one morning you'll wake up and they'll have completely worn away!" Anders sniggered.

"Most of the horses died in the first Assault on the Keep Oghren" I rolled my eyes, "You know that"

"Well it's been months and months since then" Oghren grumbled.

"We COULD invest in some more?" Nathaniel suggested. I didn't answer him. I didn't want to admit that I had never ridden a horse in my life and was terrified of the things. It was the reason I kept putting it off whenever Varel mentioned it.

"I'll mention it to Varel" I lied. We didn't really need them anyway!...Sort of.

Another fifteen minutes passed and the sun continued to blaze away in the sky.

"So...Sigrun..."Oghren murmured, making his way over from Nathaniel's side to stand next to his fellow dwarf, "What are you doing tonight?"

Sigrun pulled a face and let out an exasperated sigh.

"Come on, is it such a hard question?" Oghren persisted, "Will you be getting another bath? I know you were having one the other day when I-"

"Oghren!" Sigrun cut him off, "That never happened! I have completely wiped that moment from my memory!"

"Well I haven't wiped it from mine!" Oghren waggled his eyebrows suggestively and took a swig from the trusty tankard he kept strapped to his belt

"Oghren, are you drunk already?" Nathaniel sighed.

"You're just jealous Howe!" Oghren hiccuped, "You're jealous because the ladies LOVE me"

"Of course" Nathaniel said with a tut.

"Anyway, I fight better if I am drunk!" Oghren continued, "I just take my axe and-"

"Shush!" I snapped, stopping dead in my tracks. I felt a tingling feeling run along my arms and down my legs. In my mind's eye I could see the approaching Darkspawn, I could feel the taint within them as they could feel mine within me.

"Darkspawn!" I snarled, unsheathing my daggers. The 'Spawn were not yet close enough to be heard but I could sense their position and how many they were in number. This was a Grey Warden's blessing and curse. We could sense the Darkspawn from far away, without either having seen or heard them. However, they could do the same to us and, as such, it was fairly impossible to ever make an ambush or hide from them if we were outnumbered.

"Twenty of them!" Nathaniel cried, gripping his bow tightly, "Twelve hurlocks and eight genlocks!"

"They have sensed us too" I said, "Attack them as they come out of the field and onto the path"

I gripped my new daggers tightly and waited.

A moment passed and I could hear them now. They were disgusting, vile creatures, whose taint bled out of their eyes and onto their grey faces. They smelled of rotten flesh and dried blood and in their eyes was an unmistakable emptiness. They were shrieking as they approached, as was their custom. Whether it was a battle cry or just noises that they made, I did not care. They were not going to survive.

The first Darkspawn broke free of the field, with its sword held high and it's mouth wide open. It had barely made a step onto the path before an arrow flew right into its open mouth, piercing through the back of its head. It gargled and fell to the ground.

Nathaniel scowled at it and pulled another arrow out of his bag, ready to strike again.

Another six Darkspawn followed the first, spilling out onto the path and charging at us with their blades held high.

I felt the adrenaline course through my body as I ducked a blow from one Darkspawn and then another. I raised my dagger and sliced through the first one's throat, almost tearing its head right off. The warm blood splattered across my face and clothes. The second Darkspawn ran at me, trying to slash at my waist. I dodged its blow and jumped into the air, before swiftly kicking it in the head. The creature fell to the floor in pain and shock and I told the opportunity to drive a dagger right into its left eye. A third creature attempted to flank me, but I turned around and stuck my dagger up through its chin and into its brain before it could even react.

"Agggghhhh!" Oghren yelled. He heaved his huge axe into the air and brought it smashing down onto the Darkspawn he was facing, almost cleaving it in half.

Anders raised his staff and froze solid one of the creatures that was headed for him. He then brought his staff smashing down onto its head, causing the Darkspawn to shatter into a thousand pieces.

"That's why mages are feared!" He cried. He looked up at the rest of us, "Does anyone need healing?" He yelled.

"My arm!" Sigrun yelled back, slicing the hand off a genlock. Anders closed his eyes and the air crackled as he summoned a wave of blue energy. He directed it towards Sigurn and the slash on her arm was instantly healed.

One of the Darkspawn attempted to flank Justice, but was stopped in its tracks by Toro diving on it and enclosing his huge jaws around its head.

I slashed the leg of my newest opponent, causing it to stumble to its knees, before driving one of my daggers into its chest. However, I was so busy with this one I did not notice a genlock behind me. I felt its presence too late. I turned around just as its blade came swinging at my throat. I flinched and waited for the blow...but it did not come! I watched in shock and confusion as the genlock fell to the floor. As it landed at my feet, I saw an arrow sticking out of the back of its head. I looked up and saw Nathaniel with his bow poised. He bowed his head at me and I nodded back in thanks.

"I think that is all of them!" Justice announced, scraping Darkspawn gore off his shield.

"I don't sense any more" Anders said with a frown.

I stood still and listened, panting slightly out of breath. I could sense no more creatures.

"Yes, I think we've got them all" I turned around and smiled widely at my team, "Well done everyone!"

"Obviously, we are just TOO awesome" Sigrun grinned.

I let out a loud laugh,

"Yes we are"

xxxx

That night at the Keep I was in my room sorting through my official papers and reading letters. Woolsey had found me as soon as I entered the Keep's gates, covered in blood and guts, and informed me that we needed at least three more privvies in the Keep to accommodate the First Warden.

"Why? How many is he going to use at once?" I had frowned in irritation.

"Well, he will be bringing at least thirty guests with him! The First Warden cannot travel all the way to Ferelden on his own can he?"

I dipped my quill into the ink and continued to write my letter to my cousin Soris. Father had mentioned earlier that he didn't write any more and I wanted to know why. Father wouldn't judge him for running off with a human and Shianni...no, Shianni would definitely judge him!

It was very late and the candle on my desk had almost burned away. I lifted my head and stared out of the window above my desk. It was pitch black outside and silent except for the occasional miaow from stray cats that loitered around the Keep at night.

I turned my attention back to my letter and wrote,

"_Father isn't angry with you at all. We were talking today and he said that he would like to hear from you AND your wif-"_

I stopped and looked up as I heard the sound of footsteps outside of my room. It was far too late for anyone to be wandering around, even the servants. I stood up from my desk and quietly made my way over to the large wooden door at the opposite end of the room. I considered picking up my dagger from my double bed, but decided against it.

I approached the door and pressed my ear against the wood. The footsteps were still there but they were growing distant. It sounded like someone was making their way down the corridor. Curiosity got the better of me and I wrapped my fingers around the huge handle on the door. I pulled it open as slowly and quietly as I could, although it still creaked and groaned as I pulled it back. I cringed at the noise and hoped that the person I was spying on hadn't heard and increased their pace.

I opened it far enough to fit my head through, and I did just that. I stuck my head through the gap and peered down the dark corridor. It was dark in the corridor but the person had a candle with them. I narrowed my eyes as they turned the corner and I caught sight of who it was.

Anders. What was he doing wandering around at this time?

"Commander?"

"Aggghhhh!" I shrieked, jumping backwards and hitting my head on the door.

"Er...sorry Commander, did I frighten you?"

"Varel!" I gasped, putting one hand on my chest as my heart pounded within it and the other on the back of my head to rub it, "Maker's breath! Don't sneak up on me like that! I almost had a heart attack!"

"Sorry Commander" Varel repeated. He puts his hands behind his back and looked at me, waiting for me to finish gasping.

"Right, did you wish to come in?" I asked him eventually, gesturing towards my room.

"Yes, thank you Commander"

I nodded and he followed me into the room. I gestured for him to sit on one of the chairs near the fire place and he did so.

"What's wrong?" I questioned. I took the bottle of wine sitting on my desk and poured two glasses, one for me and one for him. I passed him the glass before sitting in the chair opposite him.

"Thank you for the wine" Varel said, "I am glad that you are still awake Commander. I was going to wait until tomorrow if you were asleep but I thought I may as well tell you as soon as possible"

"Oh no" I groaned, sitting back in my chair, "What is it? Does the First Warden not like cheese? Will I have to send it all back?"

"No Commander..."Varel let out a small sigh, "We've just had word that the King and Queen of Ferelden wish to meet the First Warden. They will be arriving at the Keep in two days"

I choked on my wine and almost spat it out all over Varel's face.

"They're what?" I exclaimed.

Remember, HIM? The one who I was never going to think about or mention, even though I have done and keep doing so? Well that's Alistair Theirin. Also known as the King of Ferelden. And my ex lover. We had not spoken since I left for Amarantine and I had not left on good terms.

And now he was coming here. With his wife Anora. At the same time as the First Warden!

Andraste's holy knickers.

_A/N- This is an unusually long chapter. I hope it wasn't too overbearing! They should be a bit shorter from now on._


End file.
